time flies - only nine days 'till my departure for my next dream-trip. Some of you might recall me going to Antarctica at the beginning of this year. I'm going again!!!I was so completely in love with it...
I'll be spending two days in Santiago de Chile (tips - anyone?), then fly to the Falkland Islands where I'll board the ship (an icebreaker...a real one !!) for 5 1/2 weeks. So my B-day, christmas and new year will be celebrated on board. The ship will do a semi-circumnavigation of Antarctica - and we'll end in Perth- Australia, where I'll spend another week before flying home. Talkin' of a dreamtrip...
So I have to start telling people happy holidays , and 'see' you next year!

oh, BTW, David - that frog-kissing thing paid off: I found a real nice one!! (prince, I mean - not frog )And now he has to miss me for 7 weeks ...

No, there's no contact possible from the ship. part of the charm - being so far away from the real world, no cellphone, no internet...just silence, emptyness, clear sky, cold cheeks, seals, whales, penguins, and ice - lots of ice....

happy swan,
What a great trip! It is truly going to be an adventure. I knew that prince will come and now he has to miss you for 7 weeks! Wishing you a bonnne anniversaire and happy holidays. Until next year!_________________"A man hath no better thing under the sun than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry."

wowsa! sounds absolutely fantastic! i'm making the same trip after China but instead of Chile i'll be travelling through Argentina.

goede reis!/boa viagem!/bon voyage!

[only 2 consecutive trips and this country, China, has had its hooks in me so i am going to have to cut all ties after the third trip ]_________________live to eat, drink, and travel (to eat and drink, wellofcourse.)

Last edited by Saudades on Thu Nov 22, 2007 12:06 pm; edited 1 time in total

btw, do you have your 'trip report' written down somewhere? ...cause i want to read it. i want to start gathering tips & info for a very near future _________________live to eat, drink, and travel (to eat and drink, wellofcourse.)

Lucky Swan! I've wanted to go to Antarctica for a long time. I have to admit, getting a paid trip there was a little bit of my motivation for becoming a scientist. It hasn't happened to me yet, but quite a few people I work with have gone. Someday I'll get there.

I hope you have a fantastic trip and that you'll share some pictures when you return.

I'm going to East Chicago Indiana for Thanksgiving, because it's where my wife's family lives. Incredibly, East Chicago (some think of it as a dreary steel mill town) and Antarctica have a lot in common.
1. Both are at the bottom of something. Antarctica is at the bottom of the world. East Chicago is at the bottom of everyone's travel list.
2. Neither has swimmable beaches.
3. Both have adorable penguins. That's actually a lie. Antarctica doesn't really have penguins.
4. Both get visitors from the Netherlands. That's also a lie. Most visitors to East Chicago are Australians, drawn by their gullibility for false advertising.
5. Neither has native turkeys.
Swan, I wish you the best on your journey to the bottom of the earth, and I wish me the best, on my journey to the armpit of the earth._________________The goal is to fit it all in.

OK, here's a difference between Antarctica and East Chicago. This item was in the news here in Chicago this morning:
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. -- Two men looking for scrap discovered the decomposed remains of a man who was apparently stabbed to death and stuffed into a plastic bag.
Swan, I guarantee you that this will not be a problem in Antarctica._________________The goal is to fit it all in.